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Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
coach and former player. During his playing career he represented English clubs
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
and
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. Lennon moved to Celtic in 2000, where he made over 200 appearances and was appointed
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in 2005. Before retiring as a player, he returned to England and played for Nottingham Forest and
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
. Lennon also earned 40 caps for the
Northern Ireland national team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish ...
over nine years, scoring two goals. Lennon was appointed
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
of former club Celtic in March 2010, initially in a caretaker capacity, following the departure of
Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Sunderland. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender. He began his coaching career with Ip ...
.Celtic appoint Neil Lennon as their new manager
''The Times'', 9 June 2010
Lennon enjoyed significant success as Celtic manager, winning three Scottish league championships, two Scottish Cups, qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League twice and the knockout stages once, before leaving the club in May 2014. After an unsuccessful spell back in England with
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...
, marred by the club's financial problems, Lennon returned to Scottish football in 2016 with Hibernian. He led them to promotion back to the
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
in his first season as head coach, and European qualification in his second season, before leaving Hibernian in January 2019. Lennon returned to Celtic in February 2019, initially on an interim basis for the rest of the 2018–19 season, and guided them to the league and Scottish Cup titles. His contract was renewed and he led Celtic to the Scottish league title again in 2019–20. He also led the team to a fourth consecutive
domestic treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...
by also winning the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
and the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Rangers in the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership. Lennon returned to football a year later, becoming the new manager of Cypriot club Omonia in March 2022. Less than three months after arriving on the island, he led the club to win the
Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club tea ...
, their first since 2012.


Early life

Lennon was born in
Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...
,
County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
and attended
St Michael's Grammar School , motto_translation = For the Church of God , location = 25 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , ...
in the town. As a youngster he played
gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...
for the school and was also selected for the
Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...
minor team. He grew up supporting
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
Lennon the man to lead Celtic's revival
''The Belfast Telegraph'', 9 June 2010
and played football for the local Lurgan Celtic youth team.


Club career


Early career

Lennon joined
Glenavon Glenavon Football Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional football club that competes in the NIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. G ...
, after reaching the final of the Milk Cup with Glenavon Select and scored on his Irish League debut. He then joined
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
as a trainee in 1987. He made one first team appearance during his time in Manchester, a league match on 30 April 1988 away against
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, before signing for
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
on a free transfer in August 1990. Lennon made his debut for Crewe on 18 September 1990 against Reading. Despite missing the whole of season 1991–92 due to a back injury, he became an established member of the side and impressed with his intelligent play and consistent performances. Lennon's form saw him make his debut for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
in 1994, and thus became the first Crewe Alexandra player in 60 years to win a full
international cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In th ...
. In years at Crewe, Lennon made 187 appearances for the club and scored 18 goals.


Leicester City

In February 1996, Lennon signed for
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
for a fee of £750,000. In May 1996, Lennon played in the Leicester City side that defeated
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
2–1 at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
in the Play-off Final to win promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. On 16 April 1997, Lennon picked up his first major winner's medal when Leicester won 1–0 against Middlesbrough in a replayed League Cup Final. He played in a further two League Cup Finals during his time at
Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...
, losing 1-0 to
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in March 1999 but winning 2–1 against
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
in February 2000. An on-field incident during a league match in 1998 against
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
between Lennon and
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premi ...
resulted in the England international being charged with misconduct by the FA, Television footage showed Shearer appearing to intentionally kick Lennon in the head following a challenge. The referee of the game took no action against Shearer. Shearer apologised afterwards, but denied that the contact with Lennon was deliberate, and Lennon later gave evidence in Shearer's defence at the FA hearing which subsequently cleared the Newcastle and England striker of all charges.


Celtic

After
Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Starting his career in Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his play ...
became the new manager of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
in June 2000, he made several attempts to sign Lennon. Finally after months of protracted negotiations with Leicester, on 6 December 2000 Lennon joined the club he supported as a boy for a fee of £5.75 million. That season saw Lennon pick-up three winner's medals as Celtic swept to a domestic treble, winning the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
,
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...
. The next four seasons at Celtic saw Lennon win a further two league championships and two Scottish Cups. He was also an integral part of the Celtic side that reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, losing 3-2 to Porto after extra time. When
Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. He has since managed Co ...
took over from Martin O'Neill as Celtic manager in the summer of 2005, he made Lennon Celtic
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. In January 2006 when his former club Leicester City sacked
Craig Levein Craig William Levein (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently a full-time advisor to the board of directors at Highland Football League club Brechin City. During his playing care ...
, Lennon was linked with a return to the Midlands side in a player-manager role. He went on record saying he was flattered but wanted to captain Celtic to the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
title. Although he was also linked with a move to
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in a player-manager role in the summer of 2006, on 23 June 2006, Celtic announced he had signed a new one-year contract.
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
manager
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...
made an attempt to sign Lennon prior to the closure of the August 2006 transfer window, but his approach for the player was rejected by Celtic. On 25 April 2007, Lennon announced he would be leaving Celtic, and in his last game for the club on 26 May 2007, he captained the team to victory in the
Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
against Dunfermline Athletic. Celtic's 1–0 win clinched the League and Cup Double.


Later career

Lennon joined
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club Nottingham Forest on a one-year contract with an option for a second year on 12 June 2007. He made his debut captaining the side in a 0–0 draw at home to
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a r ...
. He missed a week's training with Forest in November 2007, because of family reasons in Scotland, and lost his place in the team as a consequence. Lennon joined
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...
of League Two on a free transfer on 31 January 2008, managed by his former Celtic midfield partner
Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
. He left on 3 April to take up a coaching role with Celtic.


International career

Lennon made his international debut for
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
on 11 June 1994 when he come on as a substitute in a friendly against
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. He had to wait nearly a year for his next
cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
when he played against
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
in another friendly. Lennon made his first competitive appearance three months later on 3 September 1995 in a European Championship qualifier away against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. After that, Lennon became a fixture in the international side although Northern Ireland were unsuccessful in their attempts to qualify for the finals of major tournaments. Lennon decided to retire from international football in August 2002 upon receiving a
death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...
before a Northern Ireland match against
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
. The threats came after his alleged claim that he wanted to play for a team representing a
United Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
. The threat was allegedly made by the
Loyalist Volunteer Force The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of ...
, although the organisation later denied this. Lennon was capped 40 times by Northern Ireland, scoring two goals. He also captained the team on several occasions.


International goals

''Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first''


Managerial career

Lennon was linked with the vacant manager's job at Hibernian after the resignation of John Collins, but the job was given to Mixu Paatelainen. Lennon's first coaching appointment was as first team coach with Celtic in 2008. After the appointment of
Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Sunderland. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender. He began his coaching career with Ip ...
as Celtic manager, Lennon took charge of the Celtic reserve team. Celtic won the Jock Stein Friendship Cup match on penalties in his first match. With no reserve league, the team played a series of friendlies in Ireland against the first teams of
Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
,
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
,
Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most ...
, and
Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...
, losing only once.
They played several times in England against
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
, Everton,
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
.


Celtic

Following Mowbray's departure from Celtic on 25 March 2010, Lennon was appointed
caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a care ...
for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. He appointed former teammate
Johan Mjällby Karl Johan Siward Mjällby (; born 9 February 1971) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player who played as a centre back. He represented AIK, Celtic, and Levante during a career that spanned between 1989 and 2006. A full in ...
as his assistant. Celtic won all of their remaining league games under Lennon, including wins over
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
, Hibernian, and Rangers, but lost 2–0 to First Division side Ross County in the semi-final of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic on a full-time basis on 9 June 2010. He retained Mjällby as his assistant, as well as former Celtic teammate Alan Thompson and former
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
teammate
Garry Parker Garry Parker (born 7 September 1965) is an English football coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for Omonia. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1983 to 2001, notably in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, Ast ...
as first-team coaches He made considerable changes to the Celtic team for the 2010–11 season. He sold
Aiden McGeady Aiden John McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian. Born in Scotland, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team from 2004 until 2017. He started his c ...
for a then Scottish record £9.5 million along with captain
Stephen McManus Stephen David McManus (born 10 September 1982) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is a first team coach at Scottish Premiership club Celtic. McManus, who played as a centre-back, was a product of Celtic's youth acad ...
and goalkeeper
Artur Boruc Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 a ...
. 13 other players also left the club, this gave Lennon enough funds to re-build for the new season. Lennon then went on to sign several talented, young, cheap, relatively unknown players, from smaller leagues around the world; striker Gary Hooper arrived from English side
Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A ...
, Israeli international
Beram Kayal Beram Kayal (or Biram Keyal, ar, بيرم كيال, he, בירם כיאל; born 2 May 1988) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bnei Sakhnin of the Israeli Premier League. Internationally he plays for I ...
was signed, and Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre also signed on. Lennon also signed several experienced players on free transfers.
Charlie Mulgrew Charles Patrick Mulgrew (born 6 March 1986) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership side Dundee United. Mulgrew began his career at Celtic, during which time he spent time on loan at Dundee ...
,
Joe Ledley Joseph Christopher Ledley (born 23 January 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He started his career with then Championship side Cardiff City where he spent six years. He helped the club to the F ...
, and
Daniel Majstorović Daniel Majstorović ( sr-cyr, Даниел Мајсторовић; born on 5 April 1977) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a centre back. He started his career with IF Brommapojkarna in his native Sweden. After a year with the club, ...
all went into the first team. In addition to these Lennon also signed five other players, including
Fraser Forster Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Forster started his career with Newcastle United and had brief loan spells with Stockport ...
on loan from
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
who became first choice 'keeper and helped set a new SPL record for most clean sheets. On 28 July, in his first competitive game as full-time manager, Celtic lost 3–0 away to
Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. Celtic won their first eight league matches under Lennon, although controversy erupted in their 2–1 win away at
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
on 17 October 2010. Celtic were awarded a penalty kick in the second half, but the decision was then rescinded by referee Dougie McDonald. McDonald explained after the match that he over-ruled the penalty award on the advice of the assistant referee. Lennon reluctantly accepted McDonald's explanation, commenting "I suppose you have to put it down to another honest mistake by the referee." It was, however, later revealed that McDonald had lied in his explanation over the penalty award and the referee subsequently resigned several weeks later having received a warning from the Scottish Football Association after failing to properly explain his overturning of the penalty award. Further referring controversy ensued the following week when Celtic lost their unbeaten run in the league, losing 3–1 at home against Rangers. The Ibrox club's third goal came as a result of penalty awarded when Rangers' Kirk Broadfoot fell to the ground under a challenge from Celtic's
Daniel Majstorović Daniel Majstorović ( sr-cyr, Даниел Мајсторовић; born on 5 April 1977) is a Swedish former footballer who played as a centre back. He started his career with IF Brommapojkarna in his native Sweden. After a year with the club, ...
. Broadfoot appeared to have dived, and television footage showed that the referee had his back to the play when the challenge occurred, only turning in time to see Broadfoot fall to the ground. Lennon stated afterwards that he felt the referee "got a couple of decisions wrong", and added regarding the penalty, "I'm not sure that he saw it so I don't know why he's given it. He's got a lot of questions to answer". In November, Lennon led Celtic to a 9–0 win over
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
, a record win in the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
and Aberdeen's heaviest ever defeat. Celtic lost their next game 2–0 away against Hearts, with Celtic's
Joe Ledley Joseph Christopher Ledley (born 23 January 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He started his career with then Championship side Cardiff City where he spent six years. He helped the club to the F ...
sent off for the first time in his career for a "strong" challenge on Ian Black. Celtic were later denied a penalty award in the second half, and shortly afterwards Lennon was sent to the stand by the referee. Lennon defended Ledley after the match, describing referee Craig Thomson's decision as "ridiculous". Lennon was later given a six match touchline ban for excessive misconduct as a result of the incident in the Hearts' game, although it was later reduced to four matches after appeal. He was given another four match touchline ban by the SFA following an altercation with Rangers assistant manager
Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland in ...
after a
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in March 2011, but they lost 2–1 to Rangers after extra time. They remained in contention for the SPL title until the final day of the 2010–11 season, when they won 4–0 at home to
Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
, but finished a point behind Rangers. He won his first silverware as a manager when Celtic beat Motherwell 3–0 in the
Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
a week later. After rallying from a poor start to season 2011–12, Lennon won the SPL Manager of the Month award for November 2011. The club went on to win the
2011–12 Scottish Premier League The 2011–12 Scottish Premier League was the fourteenth season of the Scottish Premier League, the highest division of Scottish football, since its inception in 1998. The season started on 23 July 2011 and ended on 13 May 2012. A total of twe ...
and Lennon was made
SFWA Manager of the Year The Scottish Football Writers' Association Manager of the Year (often called the SFWA Manager of the Year, or simply the Scottish Manager of the Year) award is given to the manager in Scottish football who is seen to have been the best manager of ...
. Lennon then guided Celtic through two qualification rounds to reach the group stage of the
2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...
, where Celtic beat
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
one day after the club's 125th birthday. Celtic qualified out of their group to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Celtic were comfortably beaten on aggregate by
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
in the last 16 round, but both Celtic and Lennon were still praised for their overall Champions League campaign. On 21 April 2013, Celtic retained the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
title. Lennon finished the season by leading Celtic to a League and Cup double with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final. Celtic qualified for the group stages of the Champions League again the following season, but had a dismal campaign; winning only once with a 2–1 home win over Ajax, and slumping to a 6–1 rout away against Barcelona in the final group match. They fared little better in the domestic cup competitions; losing 1-0 to Morton in their first game in the
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...
, and losing 2-1 to
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
in the fourth round of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, On 22 May 2014, Lennon announced that he was leaving Celtic after four years as manager. "I have parted company with Celtic," he said in a brief statement, adding "The club are in a very strong position and I wish the fans and the club all the very best for the future."


Bolton Wanderers

Lennon was announced as the new manager of
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...
on 12 October 2014, signing a four-year contract. He won his first game in charge 1–0 against
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
at St Andrew's stadium, although he was sent to the stands in the 81st minute after an altercation with referee Mark Hayward caused by Lennon leaving his technical area before Craig Davies's penalty was saved. Lennon's first three months in charge saw Bolton rise ten places from bottom of the league up to fourteenth; a spell that included an eight match unbeaten run and four consecutive clean sheets. Bolton reached the fourth round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
and took
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
to a replay before conceding a last minute goal to lose 2–1 and go out. Things didn't go well for Lennon thereafter, with Bolton winning only one of their last 11 games of the season, and
Barry Bannan Barry Ryan Bannan (born 1 December 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Sheffield Wednesday. Bannan began his career at Albion Rovers before moving to the Celtic Academy and later the A ...
and
Neil Danns Neil Alexander Danns (born 23 November 1982) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Macclesfield and the Guyana national team. In December 2022, Danns was also appointed interim manager at Macclesfield. He began his ca ...
being suspended by Lennon for off-field indiscipline. Bolton did however succeed in avoiding relegation, finishing 18th in the league. Bolton struggled at the start of the following season, and by October 2015 were lying bottom of the table with only one win in their first eleven league games. Lennon maintained confidence in his ability to improve Bolton's fortunes, stating "I didn't realise quite how tough it was going to be but I have got faith in my own ability and I believe we'll turn things around." By the end of November 2015, Bolton had gone on a run of twelve games without a win, and remained bottom of the Championship. At this time, the club announced that their squad had not been paid this month "due to a short-term funding issue" in a statement which came hours before their 1–1 draw with Brentford. In that game, Bolton striker Gary Madine was seen on television mouthing an insult towards Lennon, although the manager played down the incident afterwards, stating "I don't know what he said. He's a Geordie, I can't understand him! It was probably reciprocated!" Bolton continued to struggle and, with the club at the bottom of the table, Lennon left by "mutual consent" on 15 March 2016.


Hibernian

Lennon was appointed head coach of
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
club Hibernian in June 2016. He led the "Hibees" to the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
title and promotion back to the
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
(after a three-season absence) in his first season. In September 2017, Lennon and Hibs agreed to extend his contract to the end of the 2019–20 season. Hibs finished fourth in the
2017–18 Scottish Premiership The 2017–18 Scottish Premiership (known as the Ladbrokes Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 23 June 2017. The season ...
and qualified for the Europa League. On 25 January 2019, Lennon was suspended by Hibernian following an exchange with other club employees. On 30 January, it was announced that he and assistant coach
Garry Parker Garry Parker (born 7 September 1965) is an English football coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for Omonia. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1983 to 2001, notably in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest, Ast ...
had left the club by mutual consent. A club statement said that "neither Neil nor Garry has been guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing and no disciplinary process has been commenced. The suspension, put in place to allow an internal review, was lifted by the club as part of this agreement."


Return to Celtic

On 26 February 2019, Lennon was appointed manager of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
for a second time, taking over until the end of the campaign following
Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...
' mid-season departure for
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. Having helped the club achieve an unprecedented third domestic treble ("treble treble"), Lennon was appointed permanent manager for a second time at the end of the season. The 2019–20 season saw very similar success, even following the suspension of professional football as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The season was later curtailed and the title awarded to Celtic, who were thirteen points clear at the time of suspension, equalling the national record of nine consecutive championships set by Celtic in the 1970s and matched by Rangers in the 1990s. In addition to the league, they were once again victorious in the
League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and Scottish cups, giving the club their fourth consecutive domestic treble. Following a positive start to the 2020–21 campaign, Lennon came under significant criticism after the club underwent a poor run of results that began with a 2–0
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
home loss to Rangers on 17 October; this was followed by failure to qualify for the Champions League group stage, elimination from the Europa League in the group stage and elimination from the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
in the second round, ending the possibility of a fifth consecutive treble. As calls were made for Lennon to be sacked and fans began to protest outside
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
following their elimination from the League Cup, the board of directors released a statement on 7 December in which they voiced full support of Lennon and his back room staff. After a brief turnaround in results, Celtic lost the second Old Firm game of the season on 2 January, and calls were once again made for Lennon to be removed from his position as hopes of a historic tenth title faded. Lennon was also criticised for taking the squad on a training trip to Dubai in January, during which two players contracted
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
; health protocols meant that 13 players and three coaches, including Lennon, had to be quarantined for 10 days after they returned. They consequently missed league matches with Hibernian and
Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American customs ...
, both of which were drawn. There were more fan protests after a home defeat by St Mirren, the first time the Paisley club had won at Celtic Park since 1990. Despite previously stating that he would not resign, Lennon left the club on 24 February 2021 following a 1–0 defeat to Ross County, which left Celtic 18 points behind Rangers in the title race.


Omonia

On 8 March 2022, Lennon was appointed head coach of
Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
side Omonia on a two-and-a-half year deal, replacing former Rangers defender
Henning Berg Henning Stille Berg (; born 1 September 1969) is a Norwegian football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Cypriot First Division club Pafos FC. His career lasted from 1988 to 2004, most notably in the Premier League where h ...
. On 25 May, Lennon led the club to their first trophy under his leadership, as they defeated
Ethnikos Achna Ethnikos Achna Football Club ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Εθνικός Άχνας), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cypriot football club based in the village of Achna. Founded in 1968, the club curren ...
on penalties to win the
Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club tea ...
; during extra time, Lennon received a red card and was ordered to leave the touchline by the referee. Ahead of the
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, Lennon recruited players who he had managed at former clubs, including Adam Matthews and Gary Hooper (
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
) and Brandon Barker ( Hibernian). After defeat in the
Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...
to
Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divis ...
, Lennon's Omonia team shocked Belgian side Gent 4–0 on aggregate to qualify for the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
group stage. Despite respectable showings against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...
in the group stage, Lennon was sacked on 18 October 2022 due to disappointing results in the domestic league, including losses to newly-promoted sides
Akritas Chlorakas Akritas Chlorakas ( el, Ακρίτας Χλώρακας) is a Cypriot football club based in Chloraka, Paphos. The club was founded in 1971, and currently plays in the Cypriot First Division. Akritas' colours are green and white, and they play ...
and Nea Salamis.


Personal life

Lennon has spoken about having suffered from depression since 2000. In January 2011, Lennon reached an out of court settlement with the
Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...
after a company of which he was a director defaulted on a €3.7 million loan. While a young player at Crewe, Lennon was a friend of
Andy Woodward Andrew Woodward (born 23 September 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played in the English Football League for Crewe Alexandra, Bury, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe United (two loan spells) and Halifax Town. Later a serving p ...
and
Steve Walters Steve Walters (born 28 August 1965), also known by the nickname of "Boxhead", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s who at the peak of his career was considered the best in the game. An ...
, both of whom were victims of sexual abuse by coach
Barry Bennell A child sexual abuse scandal involving the abuse of young players at football clubs in the United Kingdom began in mid-November 2016. The revelations began when former professional footballers waived their rights to anonymity and talked publicly ab ...
. After Bennell's 2018 conviction, Lennon spoke of his regret at not being aware of the abuse at the time. He is a supporter of his home-town team
Lurgan Celtic Lurgan Celtic Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club based in Lurgan, County Armagh, that currently plays in the Mid-Ulster Football League Junior Division 3. The club was founded, 1903 & re-formed in 1970 who plays in a s ...
.


Managerial statistics


Honours


Player

Crewe Alexandra *
Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
promotion: 1993–94 Leicester City *
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
(2): 1996–97, 1999–2000 * First Division play-offs: 1995–96 Celtic *
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
(5): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07 *
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...
(2): 2000–01, 2005–06 *
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
runner-up: 2002–03 Nottingham Forest *
Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
promotion: 2007–08


Manager

Celtic *
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
/ Premiership (5): 2011–12,
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2019–20 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
,
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, 2018–19, 2019–20Celtic win fourth straight Scottish Cup as Hazard's shootout saves break Hearts
Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 20 December 2020
*
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...
: 2019–20 Hibernian *
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...
: 2016–17 Omonia *
Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club tea ...
: 2021–22


Awards and achievements

;Player *
PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...
(Third Division): 1993–94 * PFA Team of the Year (Second Division) (2): 1994–95, 1995–96 * Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year (1): 2001 * Celtic FC Player of the Year (2): 2003–04, 2005–06 ;Manager * SPL Manager of the Year: 2011–12 *
SFWA Manager of the Year The Scottish Football Writers' Association Manager of the Year (often called the SFWA Manager of the Year, or simply the Scottish Manager of the Year) award is given to the manager in Scottish football who is seen to have been the best manager of ...
(3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2019–20 * '' Sunday Mail'' Sports Awards Editors' Choice: 2012 * SPL Player of the Month (3): March 2001, March 2004, April 2007 * SPL Manager of the Month (8): September 2010, January 2011, April 2011, November 2011, December 2011, February 2012, April 2012, December 2012 * SPFL Premiership Manager of the Month (3): December 2013, January 2014, October 2017 * SPFL Championship Manager of the Month (2): August 2016, January 2017


References


External links

*
Neil Lennon biography
Northern Ireland Football Greats {{DEFAULTSORT:Lennon, Neil 1971 births Living people People from Lurgan People educated at St Michael's Grammar School, Lurgan Armagh Gaelic footballers Clan na Gael CLG Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Association footballers from Northern Ireland Association football midfielders Glenavon F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players NIFL Premiership players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Northern Ireland under-21 international footballers Northern Ireland B international footballers Northern Ireland international footballers Football managers from Northern Ireland Celtic F.C. non-playing staff Celtic F.C. managers Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers Hibernian F.C. managers AC Omonia managers Scottish Premier League managers Scottish Professional Football League managers English Football League managers Expatriate football managers from Northern Ireland Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Cyprus